The Darkness Between the Stars is a novella speculating on the possibility of panspermia as the reason why life arose so quickly on Earth 4.2 billion years ago.Commander Dario Andretti and First Officer Jane McDermott are on board the Horizon Surveyor, searching the Oort Cloud for asteroids left over from the formation of the solar system, hunting for relics from previous star systems. After more than a year in space, boredom is setting in. And then come the voices...FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact.